Cause Of Death Still A Mystery

Hampton Police Say Victim Beaten, But She May Have Died Of Overdose

HAMPTON — It's been more than a week since Patricia Lynn Barnes died, but police are still trying to find out if she was slain or overdosed on drugs.

Hampton police believe Barnes' boyfriend, Charles Jeffrey Johnson, 42, beat her on Nov. 17. They arrested Johnson that day and charged him with maiming.

Barnes and Johnson lived together on Seaboard Avenue, in the Buckroe section of the city. There were several people in the house who witnessed the beating, said Sgt. Jeff Walden, a Hampton police spokesman.

Later that evening, one of the witnesses called 911, but she told the dispatcher that Barnes was suffering from an overdose.

When paramedics arrived they found Barnes unconscious on the bathroom floor, having trouble breathing, Walden said.

Barnes, 36, was taken to Sentara Hampton General Hospital, where she was admitted.

She died four days later, on Nov. 21.

Her body was sent to the state medical examiner's office in Norfolk for an autopsy.

The results are not back, so the case remains under investigation.

Walden said Barnes had two black eyes and a cut over her right eye. She also had bruises on her hip and her abdomen, he said.

Walden did not know what Barnes was treated for at the hospital.

Walden also said he did not know why the woman who called 911 said Barnes had overdosed.

He would not provide any information from witness statements or say what drug Barnes might have taken.

Detectives are awaiting results of a toxicology test on Barnes, Walden said.

Johnson was released Nov. 22 on $5,000 bond, according to jail records.

Troy Graham can be reached at 247-4741 or by e-mail at tgraham@dailypress.com